The Cold Mask of Death
by infinityphoenix
Summary: When a disturbing phenomenon is discovered in the World of the Living, Soul Society sends two Soul Reapers to infiltrate the organization known as SEES.
1. Between Two Days

**Author's Note:** Hello, my name is infinityphoenix. Well, not really, but that's what you can call me. This is my first crossover and my first fanfiction, so thanks ahead of time for taking the time out of your day to read through a literary work that may or may not be an absolute failure. Personally, I think it's pretty good, but you can't take my word for it, I'm biased. So see for yourself: read through it and be sure to leave your comments. Thanks again for reading.

* * *

As another day came to an end, Soul Society's 12th Division Captain was analyzing the data retrieved from the Hollows that had been defeated during the recent fiasco.

_Good_, the scientist thought to himself, _Very good. These results fall well within my hypothesis._

Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi placed the clipboard he was reading next to a jar labeled "Espada # 8".

_Now then,_ he thought as he turned to a computer monitor, _it's time to see whether the activity over the last few days was a mere malfunction or something truly worth my time._

The monitor showed three different images. The largest, which occupied the entire left half of the screen, showed an area in the World of the Living that contained a Japanese high school. Another, in the upper right hand corner, was altering between the cameras placed throughout a dorm for that very same high school. The Captain knew that only three students currently lived in the dorms, and a fourth was scheduled to arrive soon. In the bottom right hand corner was a clock accurate to the nano-second. The scientist watched unblinkingly as the time approached midnight.

* * *

By the time Hitsugaya had arrived, about half of the Captains were already assembled. The rest arrived moments latter. There were twelve Captains in attendance; Renji Abarai and Ikkaku Madarame had recently been promoted to fill the Captaincies of the 3rd and 9th Divisions respectively. A replacement for the 5th Division had yet to be found. Some of the Captains were visibly annoyed for being summoned at such a time, some seemed eager for battle. Hitsugaya was among those who kept his expression emotionless. As soon as the Captain General saw that every Captain was in attendance he spoke.

"Captains of the 13 Court Guards, it pleases me to see such a rapid response to the summons I sent in this dark hour. You needn't be afraid, Soul Society is in no danger for the time being."

The atmosphere in the room lost some of the serious edge that comes with mortal peril. A couple of Captains let out a sigh of relief (at least one of them was sarcastic), but many were obviously annoyed. Those who had kept their faces emotionless continued to keep their feelings to themselves. Hitsugaya felt a tad annoyed for being dragged from his sleep to address anything other than an immediate threat.

"I have summoned you here to address a matter of the utmost importance," the Captain General continued, with a tone that demanded the silent attention of the irritated Shinigami. "Or rather, I have summoned you here so Captain Kurotsuchi could explain this matter to you, since it was he who brought it to my attention and it is he who is most familiar with the subject."

The scientist stepped forward with a gleam in his eye.

"About twenty minutes ago", he began, "I made an astounding discovery. The nightly 'malfunctions' that have plauged the clocks of Soul Society are not malfunctions at all. In fact, there is a most intriguing reason behind the phenomenon you have been badgering my subordinates with."

Hitsugaya's anger flared. He had been summoned out of a sound sleep to be lectured on the mechanics of a clock? However, it was Captain Abarai who voiced his frustration.

"So this is your idea of revenge, huh? You thought it would be funny if you could drag us out of bed and teach us why your perfect little machines have been acting up?"

The 12th Captain turned to the 3rd and wagged his finger. "Although I thank you for complementing my machines, Captain Abarai, I don't appreciate your tone. As I was saying, I have asked the Captain General for your undivided attention to explain to the lot of you a 'glitch', not in the mechanisms of a mere _clock_, but within the very fabric of _time itself_."

The scientist paused, as if expecting applause. However, when it was clear that his audience would not grant him a prolonged "oooooh" or "ahhhhhh", or any other sign of interest or acknowledgement, he continued.

"You see, for about a week now, Soul Society has been included in an event that has taken place in the World of the Living for a number of years. I am referring to the existence of an extra hour between one day and the next. I first suspected this when-"

"An extra hour?" Renji interjected. "All I got from that is that there's another hour of sleep that your causing me to miss, so explain to me why I should give a -"

"Please, your tone is rather upsetting," the scientist said before Renji could finish his sentence. "I will get straight to the point if that will prevent any further interruptions."

With that the Captain produced a remote and pressed a button that caused a projector to display the images received by the surveillance equipment placed throughout the World of the Living. On the left half of the screen an enormous tower inhabited the space normally occupied by a Japanese high school. Eerily silhouetted against a green sky, the tower appeared to have been haphazardly clumped together with pieces of the school and several bizarre structures. In several places the tower was gushing what appeared to be streams of blood. The upper right hand section of the screen was altering between images provided by surveillance cameras placed throughout a high school dorm. There didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary other than one of the rooms that appeared during the sequence. An abnormally large computer, along with several bookshelves and lounge chairs, occupied the room. A teenage girl with long red hair seemed to be fiddling with something that resembled a radio. Hitsugaya also noticed that the girl was the only person inside the dorm. In the bottom right hand corner was a digital clock afflicted with the same problem as every other clock in Soul Society: it was flashing 0:00 repeatedly.

"Can you tell us exactly what we are seeing?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Normally I would be upset by your impatience, 10th Captain," the mad-but-evidently-not-upset scientist replied, "however, you more than any other Captain here, except perhaps myself, should become familiar with what you see before you."

Before Hitsugaya could question the 12th Captain's ominous statement, the scientist had resumed speaking.

"Now then, I would greatly appreciate if you would refrain from any future interruptions, time is of the essence. For now you must be content with a summary of the situation. Tomorrow, each of you will receive a folder containing my complete findings."

The Captain gestured to the image of the tower behind him.

"As you may have guessed, the tower is of great significance. During any other hour of the day this area is occupied by a Japanese high school. However, during this nightly anomaly the space around the school is warped, resulting in _this_ monstrosity. But," the scientist said with a grin, "the real value of my discovery lies within the tower's walls."

The Captain pressed another button and the left side of the screen divided into twelve different sections. Replacing the tower were ... Hollows? _No, not quite,_ Hitsugaya mused. _They're missing the holes in their chests and their masks aren't right_.

"As you can see," Captain Kurotsuchi resumed, "these creatures have a certain resemblance to Hollows, but are missing a couple of the characteristics needed to qualify for that title. First: they lack the cavity in their torso. Second: there is a contrast between their conveniently labeled and uniform masks that are worn by the twelve subdivisions of these creatures and the skull masks that are unique from Hollow to Hollow, excluding the Menos Grande of course. Last, but certainly not least, these creatures were never human souls, and seem to have always existed in the state you see before you."

"If they aren't Hollows then why should we -"

"While they are not Hollows," Captain Kurotsuchi continued before Renji could finish his sentence, "they are responsible for a curious phenomenon: the rapid Hollowfication of the souls of the living"

The 12th Captain pressed a few more buttons on the remote. The clock disappeared from the screen and was replaced by a stream of images altering between different humans. The humans appeared to be brain-dead.

"What you see before you is the most common symptom. The Hollowfied soul is incompatible with the body and neglects its care. The body continues its basic functions, but is incapable of any activity that requires any level of awareness. In some cases the soul leaves behind a weak imprint of itself behind, allowing the body enough control over its vocal cords to moan or whine. If the soul was particularly strong willed the person might form entire words or wander around aimlessly. But I digress, based on their similarity to Hollows and their effects on the human soul; I have concluded that these creatures are some kind of primal Hollow. Now," said the scientist, his grin receding, " the tests have only begun and the data is not as concrete as would have liked, but I have a theory that implies that the very existence of these creatures is 100 percent responsible for the Hollowfication of _every_ human soul."

The significance of this statement was self evident to every Captain in the room. The Shinigami were now wide-awake and listening closely to the speaker's every word: the reason they were summoned was now obvious.

"This being said, it is possible that we may be able to prevent the future production of any and all Hollows." the 12th Captain said, stating the thoughts of said Captains.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Captain Madarame yelled. "Those things aren't going to slaughter themselves!"

"Patience, 9th Captain, we don't know exactly what we're up against and it would be unwise to charge in without a strategy. Besides, rampant violence can't solve all of our problems, can it?" the 12th Captain asked.

This was met with grunts of disagreement from Captains Madarame and Kenpachi.

"You see, I have my own plan which has recently been approved by the Captain General. It's an infiltration mission designed to gather vital information, one that demands skills of the highest caliber. Therefore I have handpicked a Captain and an Assistant Captain that I believe have the greatest chance of success. This is where you come in, Captain Hitsugaya."

As his fellow Captains turned towards him Hitsugaya felt as if he should say something. "I am honored to have been chosen for this mission." he began. "I promise that my lieutenant and I will-"

"Before you begin making promises, Captain, don't you think you should know what you are saying?" the scientist asked. "Because by the sound of it, it seemed that you were under the impression that your lieutenant would be joining you on this mission."

"I'm sorry", Hitsugaya said as he raised his eyebrows, "but I could have sworn that I heard you say that you choose the Captain and Assistant Captain that would be most likely to succeed. I would have thought someone as smart as yourself would know that a Captain can fight easier and more efficiently with his own lieutenant than with someone else's."

"Again, you seem to have not heard me correctly. I am beginning to have second thoughts on your ability to collect information," Captain Kurotsuchi began. "I said this was an infiltration mission. I clearly told the 9th Captain that mass extermination was out of the question, at least for now. Combat is not the quality I chose the Soul Reapers to excel in; otherwise I would have chosen a more senior Captain. As I was saying," said the 12th Captain before the 10th could object, "you seem have thought that the tower was your target. You must have forgotten that I have shown you one other location."

The Captain pressed another button on his remote and the screen changed yet again. This time the tower and the victims disappeared completely and the screen showed every room in the dorm from the upper right corner.

"Although I have not yet explained them in detail, you couldn't have possibly imagined that I would allow these rooms to take up space on my screen without having a reason to, could you? _This_ is your target, Captain." Before Hitsugaya could open his mouth, the 12th Captain said "No questions, please, time is of the essence. Besides, a little cluelessness will help with the acting. **This dorm**", he said loudly to prevent Hitsugaya from asking what kind of acting he would have to do, "is home to a very peculiar group of high school students. While most humans enter into a state of hibernation during this hour, these students are perfectly aware of their surroundings. What's more," the scientist added, his grin returning, "is that they use a device that can externalize their zanpakuto spirits, which they use to defend themselves during this hour."

A silence followed the 12th Captain's statement as the other Captains contemplated what they had heard.

"Does that mean they can become Soul Reapers like Kurosaki could?" one of the Captains asked.

"As far as I know they can not," Kurotsuchi stated. "In addition, the device only seems to work during the hour between days. They have taken it upon themselves to investigate the anomaly. In fact, much of this data has been taken from their files. Your mission," the scientist said, addressing Hitsugaya, "is to infiltrate their organization and discover everything you can about them and these masked monstrosities. Now, I must remind us all again that time is of the essence. Captain Hitsugaya, please follow me to the room where you will be further briefed and meet the subordinate who will assist you on this mission."

* * *

**Author's Note:** So, that's chapter one. Just so you know, I think I'm going to begin each chapter with an author's note and finish each with a commentary/ review/ behind-the-scenes info about why I wrote that chapter the way I did. Oh, and I might also answer any questions I think desirve an answer (no promises that your's will be answered). I basically got the idea of a Bleach/Persona 3 crossover from the simularity of the Hollows and Shadows, as well as the role that death plays in both stories. When I began, I had to decide who Soul Society would send on this "infiltration mission" and decided they would both have to be high ranking Shinigami (in case you haven't noticed I may use the terms "Soul Reaper" and "Shinigami" interchangeably, as well as the terms "Assistant Captain" and "Lieutenant"). I chose Hitsugaya because I really couldn't picture any other Captain in a highschool. Also, I figured it made sense because he entered Ichigo's highschool wearing a school uniform while leading the advance team into Karakura town. I already know who the other person entering Gekkukan will be, but I won't spoil the surprise for you by explaining why I choose said Soul Reaper. Thanks again for reading, and don't forget to comment.


	2. Covergence

**Author's Note:** I intended to have this published a little earlier, and it's shorter than I thought it would be, so you all have my apologies. It's been snowing like there's no tomorrow recently, and we have another storm that's supposed to arrive soon. I like snow, and I like snow days, but too much of anything is a bad thing. And I don't like shoveling snow. And if there are too many snow days my school will add more days onto the school year to make up for the days we missed. I've been thinking about adding a message to my profile page, but I'm too lazy... To all Death Note fans: check out my oneshot, it's called Silver Tongued Devil. So, that brings us up to date on me, but you don't care about that, so without further ado, I give you my permission to read my second chapter. You're welcome.

* * *

Without a word, Hitsugaya followed the 12th Captain out of the room. As the scientist reached the door he stopped.

"Oh, yes," he said over his shoulder, almost as an afterthought. "The rest of you can go back to whatever you were doing. You will be given a file containing more detailed information, so be sure to brief your Lieutenants by tomorrow morning."

As he left the room with the 12th Captain Hitsugaya could hear Renji say "Why couldn't he have just summoned Hitsugaya and briefed _us_ in the morning?"

After a quick shunpo to 12th Division Headquarters, Kurotsuchi guided the smaller Captain though the halls of Research and Development.

"Kurotsuchi," Hitsugaya began, "I understand the significance of the mission, but I should know more about the kind of situation you're throwing me into. You should tell me everything you already know about the targets; otherwise I may send information you already are aware of in my reports. Besides, the more I know the easier it would be for me to-"

"Save your breath, Captain, I already told you I would tell you everything you should know when we have reached our destination, haven't I? The way you speak, I'm beginning to suspect that my fellow Captains don't trust me."

"Forgive me if I hesitate to trust a man that used members of his own squad as 'tactical explosives' against a couple Ryoka and refers to torture as a scientific experiment," Hitsugaya replied.

"I'll have you know, Captain, that most of the sentient beings I study are Hollows, and those that aren't are rarely conscious. Besides, not _all_ of my experiments use pain as a stimulus. As for the subordinates I misguided, isn't it the dream of any warrior to die serving his Captain? They should have been happy to sacrifice their lives, it was the first useful thing many of them had ever done. Wait, never mind, they didn't even succeed in destroying their targets, did they?"

Before Hitsugaya could respond, the mad scientist started speaking again.

"Here we are. Captain I would appreciate your silent cooperation while I equip you and your subordinate for your mission."

Hitsugaya tried to control his anger. Kurotsuchi might as well have said 'shut up and do as you're told'. The 10th Captain's tolerance towards the scientist's high and mighty attitude was dwindling rapidly.

Kurotsuchi entered a password into the terminal adjacent to the door. When the door was unlocked the Captain pushed it open and led Hitsugaya into the room.

The room was well organized. One section seemed to be designed entirely for the storage and review of data. The monitors, filing cabinets and the shelves lined with samples for experimentation took up most of the room. The other area was occupied by a variety of equipment placed along a few shelves. The two areas were separated by a couple of tables. The only Shinigami in the room were the two Captains, the Assistant Captain of 12th Division, and...

"Kuchiki Rukia?" Captain Hitsugaya said, addressing the other Captain in the room rather than the person of interest. "I thought you said you would pick the lieutenant that was most qualified for a mission of this caliber."

"I said something of the sort," Kurotsuchi replied. "However, it is my belief that Lieutenant Kuchiki _is_ qualified for this particular infiltration mission."

"She is Soul Society's _least_ experienced lieutenant," Hitsugaya observed.

"True, but when you consider the amount of time she has spent attending a modern Japanese high school, she is the most obvious candidate for the mission. As a matter of fact, I believe _you_ had handpicked her to assist the advance team that was recently stationed in the World of the Living?"

"I chose her because of her knowledge of the local area, I don't suppose that she is familiar with this particular area of Japan, is she? Besides, this assignment demands the skills greater than those of a Shinigami who wasn't even a seated officer a month ago."

_I'm going to pretend I didn't here any of that_. Rukia thought to herself as the Captains continued to bicker. _From what I've heard this mission doesn't sound very dangerous. It's just another way for my brother to keep me off the front lines and trying to fool me into feeling important._

But the new lieutenant knew that this mission was _very_ important. If everything went as planned, you could say goodbye to Hollows. And that was the beauty of it: when the mission was complete Captain Kuchiki could be fairly certain that there wouldn't be much danger left for Rukia to face.

After the argument between the Captains had ceased, the briefing began.

"Now then, let's make this quick, we don't have a lot more time to waste," the scientist said with a glare in Hitsugaya's direction. "The two of you will be disguised as second year high school students transferring from another school. You know by now that Gekkukan High school transforms into the tower during the hour between days but your main objective is to become close with the students at the dorm I mentioned earlier. We have made sure that you will enter the World of the Living near a person of interest. We will then send _these_ in after you."

Captain Kurotsuchi gestured to the cage that his lieutenant had just unveiled. Inside were two of the "primal Hollows" which wore blue masks adorned with the Roman numeral "I". They seemed quite pathetic: the creature itself was a black mass with two arms and Hitsugaya had sensed higher spiritual pressure in an infant.

"After your friend 'saves' you two helpless bystanders, you will continue to the apartment we have provided for you, but not before you have demanded an explanation of your situation from your savior. After you have made contact, you will inform me of your phenomenal success when you are certain you will not be overheard."

The 12th Captain turned towards the shelves and retrieved two suitcases and two school bags. "These bags contain everything you will need to conduct your mission successfully." he said as he handed them to Hitsugaya and Rukia. "That includes school supplies, a variety of clothing and your necessary Soul Reaper equipment. Among this equipment," he said with a grin, "is one of my greatest masterpieces."

The scientist produced a mod soul out of a pocket from Hitsugaya's bag.

"Mod souls as you know them are mass produced and have identical, predetermined personalities and memories. _This_ particular mod soul is special. It is, in a sense, blank. You see, as of this instant this mod soul _has_ no personality or memory: I have created it to mimic its master perfectly in every way. When ingested into the gigai the mod soul copies the memories and personality traits of the gigai's occupant via the electric currents in the brain of said gigai. In other words, the mod soul _becomes_ the Shinigami in every way except power. It will be highly useful whenever you need to be in two places at once. In addition, this copying ability will activate every time you use the mod soul and any memories that you have made since you last used it will be 'updated'. Also, you will gain the memories of the mod soul when you reenter the gigai. Keep in mind though, these don't grow on trees: if you lose yours I will personally tear off your head and stuff it into a vat of corrosive acid," the scientist said, deadly serious. "One more thing: under _**no**_ circumstances are you to misplace your mod soul with the other's. The prototypes had enough of an identity crisis to begin with, and I suspect there will be a complete psychological breakdown if it is made to mimic _two_ personalities at once. Moving right along-"

On that note the scientist handed Hitsugaya his blank mod soul and turned towards the tables in the middle of the room. There was a gigai on both tables, and each was covered beneath a white sheet. Captain Kurotsuchi took the sheet off of the first, which belonged to Rukia.

"These gigais are state of the art. I can assure you, Assistant Captain Kuchiki, that this gigai will serve you just as well as the one given to you by my predecessor, Urahara Kisuke. Except it won't be cursed, of course, so that can be said without any amount of doubt. Now concerning your gigai, Captain Hitsugaya," the 12th Captain said as he moved along to the next table, "while you may be the _most_ ideal Captain Soul Society can send on this mission, that doesn't make you exactly... _ideal,_ if you catch my drift."

Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow at this, giving the other Captain the chance to explain his statement.

"You see," the scientist began in what Hitsugaya believed to be the closest tone to apologetic Kurotsuchi had ever used, "your size would make you stand out, while, quite frankly, we would prefer it if you would blend in. Therefore, we have... modified your gigai so it will appear, shall we say, more developed than you normally appear to be."

And with that, the scientist unveiled the gigai that Hitsugaya would use during this mission, and it became obvious what the scientist had meant by "modified". While the gigai would be, by most standards, considered short (it was about 5' 5), the customized gigai was considerably taller than the Captain. In a nutshell, it was a teenage version of Hitsugaya.

Hitsugaya examined the gigai. "It wouldn't have been too much trouble to create an excuse for my size."

"Yes, I considered that before I made my decision," Captain Kurotsuchi replied. "However, irregularities of any kind seem to attract an unwarranted amount of attention from the current student population. I admit, it is a long shot, but the possibility of that kind of attention limiting your mobility was not inconceivable. Given the importance of the mission, I decided that the best course of action was the elimination of such a scenario."

Hitsugaya found it odd that the 12th Captain would change his height to keep him from attracting attention, but wouldn't bother changing the color of his hair.

As Hitsugaya inspected the gigai the scientist prepared a witty response for the small Captain's inevitable complaint.

"Okay then," Hitsugaya said, "it shouldn't be a problem."

That was not what the 12th Captain had expected to hear. "Well then," he said as he begrudgingly relinquished his retort, "why don't you try it on for size?"

Hitsugaya ignored the bad pun and stepped into the gigai. After a moment his mind had adjusted itself to the new body. As Hitsugaya slid off of the table, he couldn't help but feel that the event had been anti-climactic.

* * *

Meanwhile, under an eerie green sky, a Japanese high school student was jogging through the streets. He was wearing a jacket that he normally carried over his shoulder. The weather forecast that morning had predicted a presently warm spring night, but the Dark Hour was never warm, and _never_ pleasant. Apart from the unnaturally cold temperatures, the Dark Hour's atmosphere had a quality that could produce fatigue in the human body. Which was why it produced the perfect conditions for building stamina. The teenager was well aware of this, as he was constantly looking for ways to improve his strength and his immunity to the effects of the Dark Hour.

"Akihiko," said a voice from nowhere.

The silver haired teen, not the least bit surprised to hear his name spoken on a street devoid of human activity, stopped his training to respond.

"What is it Mitsuru?"

"There are two Shadows about a block or two from your location," Mitsuru responded. "They're only Mayas though, nothing you can't handle."

"Thanks a lot Mitsuru, I'll take care of it," Akihiko said as he resumed his jogging.

"Wait a moment, there's something else..." Mitsuru began.

"Something else?" Akihiko asked without changing his pace.

Mitsuru paused. Then Akihiko heard her gasp.

"Akihiko, hurry, I sense two human presences along with the Shadows! They feel like they could be candidates!"

Akihiko broke into a run. "Understood Mitsuru, I'll be right there!"

As Akihiko sprinted towards the location Mitsuru had guided him towards, he smiled.

With two more candidates, perhaps they could finally move on to bigger and better things...

* * *

Back in Soul Society, Captain Kurotsuchi recorded the mission's progress on a computer in the room Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Kuchiki had recently vacated.

"Nemu, bring up the surveillance footage from the area we sent our comrades," the 12th Captain ordered his lieutenant. "And be sure to get every angle this time. If I miss any of this data thanks to your blundering I swear I will dismember you and create a new Assistant Captain."

"Yes, Captain Mayuri," Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi replied.

With that said, various monitors began displaying live images of the area from the vantages points from various buildings, street lamps, and stoplights.

"Forgive my curiosity, Captain, but why is this data so important? We have already monitored the attack style of the Shadows, and I think we can trust Captain Hitsugaya's report when he accomplishes this phase of the mission, so what exactly is so-"

"Idiot, stop thinking along the lines of this being strictly part of the mission. This is an important field test."

"A test, Captain?"

"Yes, yes you fat sow; I've been waiting to test this product on a Shinigami of a Captain's rank for ages, and now Chance has given me this opportunity."

"You don't mean, sir," Nemu began as her eyes widened, "that you're using Captain Hitsugaya as a test subject without his knowledge or consent?" Using a Captain of Soul Society as a guinea pig was going too far, even for Captain Kurotsuchi.

"Of course I am, you idiot, he would never volunteer now, would he?"

"What exactly are you using him to test?" Nemu asked.

"Half wit," the Captain cursed under his breath. "What do you think? I'm referring to the customized gigai, of course."

The scientist's tone changed from annoyance to dreamy contentment as he reviewed the results of the other tests in his mind.

"I was able to test customized gigai's on members of my squad, Shinigami convicted of felonies, and volunteers from the outer districts," he said out loud.

He smiled to himself; he was always surprised what some of that 80th district rift-raft would do for a decent meal and a cage to sleep in.

"The tests varied", he continued to say, "from souls put into older versions of themselves to souls put into younger versions of themselves. I discovered that simple acts such as walking or eating were easily performable, and as long as the challenges were kept at a reasonable pace, the test subjects could meet them without worry. However, challenges that were delivered at a faster pace and required more coordination were accomplished clumsily or not at all. Evidently the deep-seated instincts the brain needed for quick reactions had not adjusted as quickly to the new body as the other routines did. Naturally, the larger the gap in age and size between the original soul and the customized gigai, the more awkward the tasks became. Somewhat surprisingly, experts could not perform their craft even at some of it's most basic levels. For example: a skilled surgeon couldn't sew stitches over a wound properly, a professional juggler could barely catch a ball, much less juggle seven, and our fifth seat was beaten to a pulp by a first year student from the Shinigami Academy (I checked ahead of time and I can assure you the student in question was talentless). There seemed to be no difference between whether I put the subject in an older body or a younger body: the subjects placed in an older body (assuming, of course that it was not too weak from age) had the advantage of a better developed muscular and nervous system, but had the disadvantage of being suddenly placed in a body the brain is unfamiliar with. On the other hand, those placed in a smaller gigai had to cope with the disadvantage of an underdeveloped body, but their brains were able to compensate by adapting quickly to a body they had once been familiar with. Interestingly enough, the amount of time since the person's death could also be taken into account; enough to rival the importance of the physical discrepancies between the gigai and soul. In one test, a man who had died 5 years ago at the age of 30 had performed better in a 10 year old body than a boy who had died as a teenager nearly 100 years ago. In other words, the longer a soul has spent in its physical age, the less able the brain becomes to adapt to the sudden change. But I digress..." the scientist said as he looked at the computer monitors.

The two masked blobs were advancing on the Soul Reapers.

_Captain Hitsugaya_, the scientist thought as the distance between the Shadows and Shinigami lessened, _the people of Soul Society hail you as a genius and a prodigy. I wonder, will that natural talent and fighting instinct support you through your trials, or will it make it harder to adapt?_

The Captain of 12th Company grinned. He was going to enjoy finding out.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Tired of Kurotsuchi's long-winded explanations? Sorry, he's one of my favorite characters to write. I came up with the "customized gigai" for two reasons: **1)** I think it really will help Hitsugaya blend into Gekkukan better, and **2)** I needed a reason why a Captain at Hitsugaya's level would start out in the game at "level 1". More of that in chapter 3. A few people have asked me if I was going to replace Minato with Hitsugaya as the protagonist, and to be honest, that was one of the hardest things to decide while I was writing. I considered everything from giving Hitsugaya the Wild Card ability, to bringing Ichigo in as a transfer student. In the end I decided the story wouldn't be the same without Minato and that Ichigo was lucky enough to still be the main character of a manga after using Final Getsuga Tensho. So yes, Minato will be in this story, so be sure to keep reading. Special thanks to anyone who favorited me or my stories, and extra special thanks to anyone who left a review and to anyone who will continue to leave reviews.


	3. Contact

**Author's Note:** Hello everybody, how have you been? I've been all right, thanks for asking. I was able to get some words on my profile and have published my first attempt in the humor genre. I also added a bunch of stories and a few authors to my favorites; you should check them out, but not until you finish reading my latest chapter. So here it is: the much-anticipated chapter 3! Read it, enjoy it, review it.

* * *

"Here they come," Rukia said as the two Shadows made their way towards the Shinigami.

Hitsugaya merely nodded. There wasn't anything to say, really, they had reviewed the plan just before they left. Captain Kurotsuchi had gone out of his way to use the weakest of the creatures they had captured: the weakest yet to be _found_. It would be child's play to dodge the pitiful attacks that would be directed at them; the only difficult part would be trying to look like they needed to be saved.

Needless to say, as a Captain of Soul Society, Toshiro Hitsugaya possessed an enormous amount of power and skill. Normally, Captain Hitsugaya could have slaughtered an entire army of the creatures without breaking a sweat. Normally, Hitsugaya could have literally destroyed the two masked blobs without lifting a finger, even if he was at 20% power.

This situation, however, did not apply as "normally".

Both of the masked fiends rushed straight for the Captain and, needless to say, the Captain was determined to stick to the plan and simply dodge the provided enemies until one of their targets arrived and "rescued" them. Hitsugaya had never considered the possibility that over 100 years of fighting in a body smaller than the one he currently inhabited would cause the instincts he had developed to be incompatible with the modified gigai.

If he had, he might have been considerably less confused after his attempt to dodge his attacker had caused him to fall backwards onto the street.

Before he could begin to make sense of his situation the he was forced to roll out of the way of the second Shadow's attack. While Hitsugaya was getting back on his feet, the first Shadow landed a critical blow on the Captain that knocked him back down. Hitsugaya braced himself for the next attack.

"Polydeuces!" a voice in the night yelled.

There was a flash of light and the Captain's attackers dissolved before they could get another hit.

* * *

Back in Soul Society, the Captain of the 12th Division grinned widely.

_It seems my hypothesis was correct,_ he thought to himself. _No surprise there._

The scientist considered what he had gained from the field test. As he had suspected, the difference in size between Hitsugaya and the gigai had significantly reduced the Captain's ability to fight. Kurotsuchi noted that Captain Hitsugaya had supported the pattern left by the other experts used as test subjects and recorded the battle onto the computer so he could compare it with the results of the other tests.

After he finished updating the mission's progress he stood up and turned to his lieutenant.

"Nemu, make yourself useful for once and forward Captain Hitsugaya's mission report to Yamamoto after you finish recording it."

"Yes Mayuri-sama, but don't you think that this would require your attention?"

"Idiot girl," the Captain hissed, "it's not that difficult. All you do is hit the 'record' button once he contacts you, and when he's finished-"

"Forgive me Mayuri-sama," the Lieutenant said, only daring to interrupt her Captain for the sake of time (after all, the slow mocking tone the scientist was using to lecture her was certainly time consuming), "but what I meant was that this mission's importance requires your full attention in order to increase the chances of success. Besides, you never explained the gigai's disorienting effects to Captain Hitsugaya, and he will most likely-"

"Don't interrupt me you wench!" the Captain screeched, striking his lieutenant across the face.

"I have things to do that are far more important than putting up with his temper tantrums. I'm sure that you are perfectly capable of relaying what I have just told you to the Captain, and if you are too useless to perform even that simple task it's not my problem. If anyone asks for me tell them I'm in the library." Anyone who knew the 12th Captain knew never to disturb him while he was in the library; the "enter and die" sign he put over the door was a largely unnecessary precaution.

Nemu gave a small sigh, she would face certain death for her Captain and creator, but she was in no way looking forward to the conversation with the 10th Captain.

* * *

Rukia resisted the urge to reduce the alarm clock to scrap metal and simply turned it off.

After their so-called savior (_wait, not 'so-called' savior, the Captain was actually in trouble_) had escorted them to their apartment and finished telling the Shinigami how to contact him, Hitsugaya had proceeded to contact the 12th Division. He didn't seem to have any problems with making poor Nemu the target of his wrath, even though she had nothing to do with the decision to give Hitsugaya the "defective piece of garbage" that had caused the Captain to genuinely need a savior. In fact, the absence of the 12th Captain seemed to have added to the 10th Captain's rage.

Needless to say, Rukia wasn't able to get any much-desired sleep with the Captain yelling at the top of his lungs from the other room.

After the conclusion of his shouting match with the monitor (which is basically what it was since Nemu Kurotsuchi didn't dare to interrupt the Captain's rant), Hitsugaya had ordered Rukia out of bed for a five hour sparing match.

_"According to Lieutenant Kurotsuchi, the reason for the earlier incident is that my brain needs to adapt to the customized gigai. That being said, we are going to practice our swordsmanship until the performance of this gigai is acceptable. Don't hold back."_

So five hours and many bruises later, Rukia was finally allowed to get some much-needed rest. Two and a half hours later, the alarm clock had brought her out of a pathetic excuse for sleep.

_Hardly even qualifies as a nap._ Rukia thought miserably. _More like a 'break'._

Before she had the chance to drift back to sleep, Hitsugaya walked into the room and turned on the lights.

"Get up," he commanded the lieutenant. "We're leaving for our appointment with Sanada in ten minutes."

After Rukia gave no response save for a sob that was muffled by the pillow, the Captain walked over to the futon and brought it out from under the Assistant Captain.

"Get up and make yourself presentable," he said to the lump on the ground. "Any Soul Reaper should be able to forgo sleep for the needs of a mission, especially a Soul Reaper of your rank. Now get up and prove that you're worthy of the rank of lieutenant for a reason other than family privilege."

The lieutenant of the 6th Division proceeded to follow orders. Hitsugaya was satisfied; he didn't care if she saw him as a slave driver as long as she did as she was told. So far he only had to tell her to get up twice, which made her considerably better at obeying commands than Matsumoto. He didn't even have to yell.

* * *

"It's nearly time for them to arrive," the Chairman said pointing to the clock on the wall. "Akihiko, are you certain that they didn't forget the directions? After all, even without the effects of the Dark Hour, they went through a traumatic experience. Nobody can fault them for forgetting, they are likely to be confused."

"I wrote down our address and phone number. They'll be here," Akihiko replied simply.

"Perhaps they are in denial and don't want to come," the soft-spoken man suggested.

"They'll be here. They were persistent, and wanted me to tell them everything I could then and there. I was hardly able to convince them that it would be better for them to listen after a good night's sleep when they would be better able to understand," the high school student argued with the older man. "I don't think they would have bought it if I had said something like 'everything that happens during this time will be hard for you to remember'."

"They may simply be exhausted. You can hardly blame two teenagers for wanting to sleep in on the last day of vacation, and they're bound to be tired after the incident last night. I still think you chose too early a time for this appointment, Akihiko."

"I wanted to make sure they could have enough time to decide and move in by tonight."

"Always rushing things, when will you ever learn Akihiko?" Mitsuru Kurijo asked. "If the Chairman is correct, than we can't sit here all day waiting for them to arrive. It would be best to contact them and make sure that they still intend to meet us here. Akihiko, do you still remember where-"

The red head stopped speaking when the door to the dorms opened and the two people of interest entered the lobby.

"Ah, speak of the devil," the Chairman said. "We were just talking about you. Please, take a seat."

The two candidates sat on the couch the Chairman pointed towards.

"I suppose introductions are in order? This is Mitsuru Kurijo and I am Shuji Ikutsuki. I apologize for the mouthful," he said with a chuckle, "I realize 'Ikutsuki' doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. I believe you have already met Akihiko Sanada. Let's see, you are both second-year students in high school, correct? Mitsuru and Akihiko are both a year ahead of you, so that would make them your senpai." Ikutsuki said. "There is one other student that lives here: Yukari Takeba, a second-year like yourself. You must excuse her absence, she's still moving in."

"I am Toshiro Hitsugaya and this is Rukia Kuchiki. It is a pleasure to met you Ikutsuki-san, Mitsuru-senpai." He turned towards Akihiko. "Thanks again for saving us last night Akihiko-senpai."

"There's no need to be formal." Ikutsuki said, as though he hadn't given him the proper honorifics. "But, I suppose we should get 'straight to business'." The Chairman chuckled.

"Um," Rukia began, "I'm sorry, but was that a joke?"

The Chairman looked slightly embarrassed. "Yes, please excuse the bad puns. I realize that this is a very serious matter for the two of you."

"Yes it is, Ikutsuki-san. We were told that you could explain what happened last night," Toshiro informed the Chairman. "We would like to take Akihiko-senpai up on his offer."

"Of course. Well, there's no easy way to explain this so... what would you say if I told you there were more than twenty four hours in a day?"

"I'd ask you why nobody else has noticed," Toshiro responded with a raised eyebrow.

Ikutsuki smiled. "A very good response. Would you believe me if I told you that every human effected by this 'extra hour' entered a state of hibernation during this event?"

"No, I wouldn't. Well, maybe, after what happened last night. Are you saying that's what happened to everyone else last night? What about the things that attacked us?"

"Another good response. I'll get straight to the point: at the beginning of 12 o'clock midnight, an anomaly called the Dark Hour begins. During the Dark Hour all electronics become inoperable and most people enter a state of hibernation called transmogification. Among the few that can remain conscious during the Dark Hour are those blessed with an ability we call Persona. A Persona is 'another self' that can be used to defend one's self against the dangers of the Dark Hour. Dangers such as the one you encountered last night."

"We call them Shadows," Akihiko said, taking over the explanation. "They attack anyone who doesn't transmogify during the Dark Hour. We Persona users are the only ones that can stop them. For a long time it was just me and Mitsuru, but we recently got a third member and are looking into a fourth. If the two of you were to join then we might finally be able to-"

"Akihiko, you're getting ahead of yourself," Mitsuru interrupted. "They don't know what they're getting into."

"I think that they do," Akihiko replied.

"Akihiko, we don't even know that much about the Dark Hour, and they know even less than us. How can you expect them to make their decision without any time to consider?"

"They know what they need to: they know that the Shadows aren't going to stop unless somebody stops them and they know that the only ones that can are Persona users. What more do they need to know?" He turned to the candidates. "Either you join us and help us put an end to Shadows and the Dark Hour, or you chose not to and take your chances by yourself. It's that simple."

"Now you're just trying to scare them into joining us, they don't know that there are hardly any Shadows outside Tartarus."

"We'll join you," Toshiro said.

"Are you sure?" Mitsuru asked. "This isn't something to be taken lightly. Your decision should be made carefully."

"I'm sure. I don't want to fight a war against those things without weapons or allies. Besides, if Akihiko-senpai hadn't been out there when he was, Rukia and I could be dead right now. How could I say no to the people I owe my life to?"

"The odds of what happened last night ever happening again are slim to none. The only danger you're likely to face is joining us in battle," Mitsuru reminded him.

"It doesn't matter, I still have a debt to pay. I've made my choice," Toshiro turned to Rukia. "What about you Rukia? Do you need time to think?"

Rukia shook her head. "I'm with you Toshiro. I just don't think I can walk away from this; I have to do something. But I would like to know more about what we're getting into."

"Excellent!" the Chairman proclaimed. "If you could follow me upstairs we'll give you everything you need and tell you anything you need to know."

_Everything is falling into place better than I had ever hoped,_ Ikutsuki thought. _Soon we will be able to take action, and we will have enough strength to destroy the Twelve. _The Chairman smiled. _They'll fight bravely, I'm sure of it. The obstacles may be formidable and sacrifices may have to be made, but in the end, it will be worth it._

* * *

_That went well,_ Hitsugaya thought. _It shouldn't be too hard to gain their trust. By why is this necessary in the first place? Kurotsuchi already has the place under surveillance, why would two high-ranking Shinigami have to bother being sent on an espionage mission? Shouldn't we be spending more of our resources looking into the tower?_

Hitsugaya continued to consider the purposes of this mission until they reached the fourth floor and opened the double doors to some kind of conference room. The heart of Hitsugaya's gigai skipped a beat when he saw what was inside.

The figure was looking down at an open book on the other side of the room. When the group arrived he turned to address them.

"Oh, don't mind me," Mayuri Kurotsuchi said with a grin, "I'm just touching up on some of my reading. This collection of books is very educational."

The group of humans took no notice of their uninvited guest. Hitsugaya and Rukia followed their lead and acted as if they didn't see him.

"Oh, that's right, I was also making sure that none of you fascinating individuals could see me," the Shinigami explained. "I find it intriguing that you are able to externalize your Zanpakuto spirits but are unable to see a Shinigami such as myself. Oh well, that should make things easier for us, don't you agree Captain?"

_Ah, so that was Kurotsuchi's reason for being there,_ Hitsugaya realized. _Now that I know they can't see us, I don't have to worry being spotted outside the gigai. Even if they had been able to see him, they wouldn't have any reason to connect him to us unless we gave them one._

"Oops, looks like I left a book out, how careless of me," Ikutsuki said. The Chairman walked over put the book away and walked through Kurotsuchi to do so.

"Well then, now that that's settled, I think I'll move on to the more advanced reading." The scientist stated as he walked through the door labeled 'Chairman's Office'.

Hitsugaya considered that it was possible that he was being sent on this mission simply because the 12th Captain was interested in the Persona users. It wasn't a pleasant thought.

"If you could take a seat right here, we may begin," Ikutsuki said as he gestured to a couch. The two Shinigami sat down.

"Mitsuru?" the Chairman said.

The red head nodded and produced what appeared to be an odd sort of radio. She opened one side of it and revealed a bunch of wires.

"With the assistance of this device, Mitsuru's Persona has the ability to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of Shadows and other Persona users, along with a variety of other data," Ikutsuki explained. "Usually this only works during the Dark Hour, but if we attach these sensors directly over your brain, we should be able to identify your Personas here and now."

"Now then, who would like to go first?" Mitsuru asked the undercover Soul Reapers.

The Shinigami looked at each other. Hitsugaya nodded.

"OK, I'll go first," Rukia offered.

After Mitsuru attached a few of the sensors to Rukia, she pulled out another cord from the machine and attached it to the gigantic computer in the room. Mitsuru set the devise on the table and closed her eyes in concentration. An image of Sode no Shirayuki appeared on the screen along with a variety of statistics.

"Your Persona is called 'Sode no Shirayuki'," Mitsuru stated without opening her eyes. "It is an ice type Persona and is above average in the skills of magic and agility. It is somewhat weak in the fields of strength and luck, and is resistant to ice and weak against fire attacks. It is able to use the attack abilities bufu and the healing move dia, as well as a variety of status healing and improving abilities. It resembles my own Persona to an extent."

Rukia simply nodded and looked at the screen.

"Interesting, isn't it?" the Chairman asked. "To be able to see the 'other you' that sets you apart. It makes me regret not having a Persona of my own."

"You aren't a Persona user?" Rukia asked.

"No, I'm afraid I'm not. Even though I remain conscious during the Dark Hour I don't have the power of Persona."

"Then what exactly do you do?" Hitsugaya asked.

Ikutsuki looked slightly offended. "I organize SEES and represent the organization to the school board. Since we are disguised as a school club, we need someone to act as a moderator for the club."

"SEES?" the undercover Captain asked.

"The Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad. It's the name we go by," Ikutsuki explained.

Hitsugaya nodded. Anyone who could pass a 'club' with the words 'Execution Squad' in its name through a school board must have considerable influence.

"Are you ready?" Mitsuru asked Hitsugaya.

"I suppose," Hitsugaya replied.

Mitsuru attached the sensors to Hitsugaya's forehead and closed her eyes. She smiled slightly as the computer displayed the statistics.

"Your Persona is called 'Hyorinmaru'. It is also an ice type and is above average in all areas other than luck, which is about average. It is particularly skilled where magic and agility are concerned. It is resistant to ice and slash attacks and weak to fire. It is able to use the attacks bufu and bufula. It can also use a number of moves that can weaken the status of an enemy. I must say that I'm rather impressed, I haven't seen a level one Persona this powerful before."

Hitsugaya looked at the serpentine ice dragon on the screen before him.

"Level one?" he asked as he observed the stat screen.

"Yes, a Persona can be quite… reluctant to being summoned at first," Mitsuru explained. "It may resist the effect of the evoker and won't use its full power. Some explanations for this say that the area of the brain the evoker effects needs to adjust itself to the stimulation, and the more it is used, the easier it becomes. Another theory suggests that a Persona is a kind of 'other self' that can be better understood the closer one comes to understanding his or her own self."

"So basically, the more you use your Persona, the more power it will give to you?" the 10th Captain asked Mitsuru.

"Yes, that is the conclusion that we have reached."

"When and where do we begin to practice? Also, how do we use our Personas in the first place?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Ikutsuki said. "First we need to gather the necessary tools to prepare you for combat. That shouldn't take to long, so we can wait until we have those tools to explain how to use them. On another note, are the two of you able to move in to the dorms?"

"That shouldn't be a problem," Hitsugaya replied. "We were just moving into the area, so most of our stuff isn't even out of the boxes yet. We could move in by tonight if that's possible."

"Fantastic!" the Chairman exclaimed. "You know, I was beginning to doubt if you would come today or if you would except our offer, but you two have proven yourselves to be quite eager. It's like the old saying goes: don't count your chickens before they hatch!"

"Uh…" Rukia began, "isn't that phrase used when you expect something good is going to happen?"

"I beg your pardon?" the Chairman asked, appearing to be slightly confused.

"Well it's like, ah, how do I explain this?" the undercover agent mused. "When you have a bunch of chicken eggs you would think that they are all going to hatch into chickens, but the might not. Let's say that one of them breaks or a fox steals one. That means that you might not get all the chickens you thought you would get, which is a bad thing. So when you say 'don't count your chickens before they hatch', you mean 'it may look like your going to going to get something good, but until it happens you should prepare for the worst.'" Rukia explained.

Ikutsuki was silent for a moment. "….. Yes, I suppose that would make sense."

Hitsugaya considered the man sitting in front of him. If he had been able to influence a group of educated individuals to authorize an 'execution squad', he hadn't done so by being an effective public speaker. Hitsugaya continued to think about the man's influence as he returned to the apartment to prepare to move into the dorms.

* * *

Miles away, another individual was preparing to move into his new home. The teenager looked around his small apartment to make sure he didn't forget anything. He didn't have much in the first place and odds were that if he had accidentally left something behind he wouldn't have missed it. The transfer student considered the people that he would leave behind, and decided that he wouldn't miss any of them too much. He had more 'acquaintances' then he had real friends. The social worker that checked in on him every so often had been nice, but she had been nothing more than an acquaintance herself; after all, the only reason she came was because it was her job, right?

Arisato Minato took another look at the information his new school had mailed him. The papers included the directions to the dorms he would be staying in. It looked like it would take time to get there, and he figured he wouldn't arrive until late at night. He sighed. Oh well, it's not like he was excited about moving back to the Iwatodai/Port Island area. He didn't have too many memories of his childhood there, and the one that drifted in and out of his dreams (nightmares, he thought, would be a better term) was not the least bit pleasant. The nightmares had become less and less frequent after the incident, but they still happened too many times in Minato's opinion.

The transfer student took one last look at his old apartment before turning off the last of the lights and walking out the door. He decided that moving couldn't be all that bad. Maybe once he got settled he would be able to redeem the way he thought about the region. He figured that when he realized it wasn't such a bad place that the nightmares would stop once and for all. He might even make a few good friends. The school seemed nice enough.

What was the worst that could happen?

* * *

**Author's Note**: So there's chapter 3. Things are falling into place as the characters begin to move into action. The Shinigami have established their place in SEES and Minato made his first appearance. This will be the last chapter that takes place before the beginning of the actual game. For all intents and purposes you could think of these first three chapters as one giant introduction.

I don't know if you noticed or not, but in the scene where the members of SEES greet Hitsugaya and Rukia in the lobby I referred to the two Soul Reapers as "the candidates" and referred to Hitsugaya as "Toshiro" because it was from the collective point of view of the members of SEES. Since the two are simply transfer students as far as they know, they think of them like they would think of any other student with the Potential. Any time I use the term "Shinigami" or "Soul Reaper", "Captain", etc means the scene is being observed from either Hitsugaya's or Rukia's point of view.

I hope I didn't fail miserably when I was writing Minato. He was kinda emo and was considered "zombie-like" in the beginning, and this is what I thought he might have been like before he started building his social links and became everybody's best friend and a 1st class leader.

As always, reviews would be greatly appreciated. I really like reviews. Seriously, I _**really**_ like the reviews I get. They're a large part of my motivation, so it stands to reason the more often you leave me reviews and the better they are, the more often I will update my stories and the better they will become. Try it out. What's the worst that could happen?


	4. Sleepwalking

**Author's Note:** Hello, everyone. Sorry for the gap between chapters; I'll try to make up for it over the summer. I had a bit of writer's block, but now I'm hoping to use my extra free time to focus on my writing. Lately I've been a bit distracted by my exams and Portal 2, but exams are over now, so that's one thing out of the way. But I have been doing _some_ writing recently: I've become a co-author of Kuso Shroan's "10 Foolproof Ways to Piss Off Bleach Characters" starting at chapter 7. We both put a lot of work into it lately, so it would be greatly appreciated if you checked it out. Special thanks to my beta, ShadowDragoon32.

* * *

4/6 Tuesday Evening

Hitsugaya opened his eyes. When the Captain noticed the sunlight coming through the window was tainted a late afternoon gold, he sat up and looked at the clock. It appeared that he had slept for the better part of 8 hours. He stretched and put away the alarm clock in the travel bag Kurotsuchi had provided him. Everything else was already packed; the only reason that the Shinigami had returned was to get some much-needed rest.

Hitsugaya sighed; he hadn't intended on sleeping for so long. He had told his new comrades that they would be able to move in at a moment's notice. It would be best not to attract too many questions, and the first thing they would ask would be "what took you so long?" Oh well. He could simply say that they had wanted to rest before they moved in. Why would they have a problem with that? But still, the importance of this mission demanded the greatest level of caution that the Shinigami could afford.

Hitsugaya considered his new acquaintances. Akihiko had been eager to invite them into the group. He seemed as if he was obsessed with defeating Shadows, which would be good for the Soul Reapers. Obsessions often caused the obsessed to overlook things right under their noses, which would help with the infiltration. However, that didn't give the Shinigami an excuse to relax their act. Hitsugaya pondered what the source of Akihiko's obsession might be briefly before he decided that anything he came up with would be mere guesswork, and therefore counterproductive.

Mitsuru also seemed extremely dedicated, but she seemed to take a more thoughtful and logical approach. They would have to be careful around her. Odds were that the sensory type might be able to tell that something was "off" with the Personas that they would summon, but if something like that were to happen, they would just have to play dumb. After all, it's not like they would arrive at the conclusion that the two were Shinigami even if they acted out of the ordinary. Sure, they might become suspicious, but with some good acting and a few well-placed lies, the espionage mission should be able to proceed without a problem. Hell, they probably wouldn't believe the truth if he told it to them.

Then there was the Chairman, Shuji Ikutsuki. Hitsugaya couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he had the impression that there was more to the man than what met the eye. He seemed to be a socially awkward, quiet and reserved individual, and yet he appeared to be the leader of SEES, so he had to have some amount of leadership qualities. But despite that, he seemed to be a spectator when important decisions were being made. Hitsugaya remembered how the argument over the two Shinigami joining SEES was mainly fought by Mitsuru and Akihiko, while the older man sat back and watched things unfold. The Captain had the feeling that the Chairman was hiding something … but no, that was probably going too far. Hitsugaya thought that the similarity the Chairman shared with a certain former Captain of the 5th Division might have influenced his thoughts. Between the glasses, the soft-spoken tone, the long brown hair, and the small smile that frequented his expression, Ikutsuki's resemblance to pre-rebellion Aizen unsettled the 10th Captain.

_That must be it, _the aforementioned Captain thought to himself. _The resemblance must be influencing me. Well, I can't allow myself to become prejudice towards a man I'll probably have to work with closely for the duration of the mission … but it can't hurt to pay close attention to the leader's movements._

With that thought in mind, Hitsugaya moved to fetch his subordinate and discuss the future of the mission.

* * *

Rukia was already awake, and was slightly annoyed by the fact that Captain Hitsugaya had overslept after the rude awakening she had received earlier that morning. Hypocrite.

"_If it bothers you so much, why don't you wake him up?"_

_Because he's a Captain, Sode no Shirayuki, and it's not healthy to upset a sleeping Captain._

"_And you're a lieutenant with an over-protective Captain for a brother. Captain Hitsugaya isn't an idiot; in the worst case scenario he would have merely glared at you."_

"Why didn't you wake me?" asked the subject of the conversation.

The Captain had finally awakened, and was sending his subordinate an unfriendly glare.

"_You see? He's glaring at you anyway."_

_I don't really need an 'I told you so' right now, thank you very much._

"I didn't want to disturb you, Captain," Rukia said out loud, not eager to stay on the Captain's bad side.

"The mission takes precedence when sleep becomes a luxury one cannot afford. Weren't you listening to anything I said earlier this morning?"

There was a painfully awkward silence.

The Captain sighed. "Never mind, it's not a big deal. Our friends at SEES will understand if we were tired after what happened last night, right? They probably already invented our excuse for us. You have my apologies; just make sure you keep the mission as your highest priority."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind, Captain."

"Good. Is there anything we need to review?" the white-haired Shinigami asked. "This will probably be the last time we can talk this freely."

"Well, Captain, … there's one thing that's been bothering me. What do you think will happen to the 13 Court Guards after there aren't any more Hollows?"

There was a pause as the 10th Captain considered her question. "Well, you don't have to worry about the Court Guards becoming obsolete, if that's what you're implying. Kurotsuchi said that this would merely prevent any future Hollows from being produced, not destroy all of them. In the long run, after we've reduced the Hollow population to nothing, I suppose that the Gotei 13 will focus on internal affairs. The increase in security would be a safeguard against rebels like Aizen raising to power again, and we may be able to use our extra resources to increase the well-being of the souls living in the Rukongai."

Rukia felt a little relieved. "Thanks, Captain," said the Assistant Captain. "I don't know how I could have even begun to think that the complete extermination of Hollows as a bad thing."

The Captain shook his head. "No, lieutenant, you made a very valid point. The activities of the Court Guards are sure to take a drastic change in a world without Hollows, but in the end, we will adapt. The worst-case scenario will probably be some minor downsizing. Was there anything else?"

It was Rukia's turn to shake her head. "No, that was all. I've already memorized our plans."

"Excellent. Let's go."

* * *

Meanwhile, a few miles away, a transfer student waited patiently for the next train. Well, he wasn't feeling particularly patient, but he had a good reason: he had just missed the train he was scheduled to take to Iwatodai, and the next one looked like it was running late. Since Iwatodai Station was the 2nd to last stop, it would take a while for the train to reach his destination after it finally came. Minato Arisato noticed a few travelers complaining loudly about the delay and decided that if patience was relative, maybe he was a patient person after all.

Still, he wasn't exactly pleased. He hadn't eaten anything before leaving and didn't want to buy anything for the fear of missing the train while he was eating, and he didn't want to spend money on food that would go to waste. With his luck, the train would come and go the moment he sat down to eat, and he didn't want to take his chances. He really didn't want to have to wait for the train after the next one; he was going to be late enough as it was.

At the rate things were going, he probably wouldn't arrive until midnight.

* * *

Yukari Takeba sat on the floor and cursed herself. Why couldn't she do it? Ikutsuki-san had assured her that the evoker was not a gun several times, and she trusted him enough to take him for his word, and yet…

She was afraid. Of what, she wasn't sure, but whenever she put that evoker to her forehead she was paralyzed with fear.

Was she afraid of her Persona? It was supposed to be a personification of her inner-self, or something like that, so was it herself she was afraid of? She was never a philosophical person, so she had never considered what kind of person she "really" was. Was her fear based on some psychological self-loathing? She didn't think so; she had been fairly excited to see what her Persona's abilities were, and she didn't think that she was afraid that releasing that power would make her realize anything about herself that she would be afraid of.

Was her fear based in commitment, then? Was she afraid that she would have to leave behind everything she had known when she pulled the trigger? But hadn't she already made a promise to become a member of SEES? She _wanted_ to help, she really wanted to make the world a safer place for people like her, so that shouldn't be a problem, right?

Was it because she was afraid that she couldn't follow through on that commitment? Was failure the root of her fear? That was the most likely answer. But that shouldn't have been a reason for fear, it should have just been another reason to go through with the task and make herself stronger. How could she do anything but fail if she couldn't even summon her own power? She tried to muster up some resolve and put the evoker to her head, but she was met with the same, insurmountable wall of fear.

She put her head up against the wall and dropped the evoker. It was so very frustrating. There wasn't even an enemy here, so _why_ was she so afraid? If she was scared now, then she would be eaten alive when she faced an actual Shadow. And she didn't even know why she was scared…

Wait, maybe it was just that; maybe it was her fear of the unknown that kept her from moving forward. After all, the entire situation she found herself in was unfamiliar and just plain bizarre. She was only a high school student and she was going to put her life on the line. And why? Because of her so-called "special power"? Her Persona was the reason she was dragged into this whole mess, and that made it seem more like a curse than a blessing.

Yukari sighed and then realized that the sink was turned on with both knobs turned all the way. That was odd, she didn't even remember using the sink in the first place. She stood up and turned off the sink, reprimanding herself for being so forgetful and emotional. She would have to get over that if she wanted to be of any assistance.

There was a knock on the bathroom door.

"Takeba, I need your assistance, could you spare a moment?" Mitsuru asked from outside.

Well, an assistance in battle, anyway, but she could help out her senpai now with whatever needed to be done.

"Sure, I'll be right there."

Yukari stepped outside and closed the door behind her. "What is it, Mitsuru-senpai?"

"We have two new students who will be staying with us. Could you show one of them to her room?"

"Two new students? Do they, you know…" Yukari trailed off.

"Have the Potential? They are confirmed Persona users."

"What? How long have you known about this?"

"Akihiko just rescued them from a couple Shadows last night, and I only met them this morning when you were getting ready to move in."

"And they're already moving in?"

"Apparently they had just moved into the area. They were just going to their apartment when they were attacked by the Shadows."

"Wow. And moving to a new place is supposed to be stressful just by itself. They must have been pretty shaken up."

"Hmm…" Mitsuru paused to consider what Yukari had said. "Well then, you would understand why I would ask that you make sure our new allies feel at home."

"Of course, senpai. I guess I should show them to their rooms now?"

"Yes. Thank you, Takeba."

* * *

As Yukari went down the stairs to assist their new members, Mitsuru stayed behind and thought about the new guests. They had shown little to no skepticism or denial to a revelation of something that would normally have seemed to be an absolute impossibility. While Mitsuru was glad that the two teenagers had accepted the reality of their situation so quickly, it was slightly surprising that they made their decision so quickly…

_They must have been pretty shaken up._ Takeba's words reflected the expectations that Mitsuru herself had held earlier that morning. And yet, instead of two frightened and confused adolescents, a pair of determined and strong-willed individuals had approached SEES. They demanded the truth, didn't run or hide from it, and as soon as they learned about their powers, they made the decision to put their lives on the line by joining forces with the Persona-users.

Mitsuru wanted to believe that this had been a gift of good fortune, but it seemed too good to be true. Recently the manpower of SEES had nearly tripled, and would, if the next candidate had the Potential and accepted a position in the organization. That in and of itself was a major windfall. But at least Takeba had acted like a normal person; the two newcomers seemed as if they had already known what would be said in the dorm lobby before it happened. Normal teenagers didn't make choices of that magnitude so calmly and decisively, even if there were logical and personal reasons. And that Toshiro Hitsugaya had the most powerful untrained Persona she had ever seen in her entire career in SEES. Who knew what kind of power he could possess after his full potential was brought out?

Mitsuru shook her head. What did that have to do with anything? So what if the boy had a powerful Persona – wasn't that a good thing? Was she really worrying about a good thing? Sure, the entire situation was almost too great to be real, but here it was. Besides, if it was anything other than what it appeared to be, what exactly was it? Mitsuru walked into her room and sat down to think, but try as she might, she couldn't arrive to a single conclusion that was both logical and negative.

They were two teenagers who had been through an extremely traumatic event and had handled it abnormally well. Sure, it was strange, but just because they made an important decision relatively easily didn't make them suspicious for having sneaky motives. They were merely high school students – what sinister objective could they possibly have that would harm SEES? Mitsuru sighed; it would be paranoid to doubt the intentions of a pair of teenagers. But they weren't normal teenagers…

Then what were they? Abnormal teenagers: that was the only other logical answer. Besides, there were plenty of reasons why the two could have acted the way they did. It was more than likely that they had discussed what had happened, and had come to the conclusion that it might not have been anything that could be rationally explained. And what other choices would the two have than to trust the Persona users? Akihiko had saved their lives, so it would make sense that they would trust their savior and his allies, and it would make sense that the bizarre situation would have a bizarre explanation. And even if it wasn't something that a teen might normally say, to pay back a debt for the one who saved your life was a perfectly valid reason to join SEES.

Mitsuru relaxed and let out another sigh. The arrival and behavior of the two new Persona users merely meant that SEES was gaining a pair of capable and powerful new members that could make difficult decisions without much hesitation. They would be a valuable asset in battle, and could bring SEES another step, or even several steps, closer to accomplishing their goal. Still, it would be wise to keep a close eye on them, if not for their peculiarity than for their value. Yes, Mitsuru reasoned, it would be prudent to keep a close eye on the two…

* * *

Late Night

"Iwatodai is the next station stop. Once again, we apologize for any inconveniences caused by the delay. This is the last stop before Tatsumi Port Island station…"

Although Minato couldn't hear the speaker over the sound of his music, he was aware that his destination was approaching. He had been counting the stops ever since he boarded the train, and he knew that he was supposed to leave the train on the second-to-last stop.

He looked out the window. There wasn't much to see, but that was what you did when you were on a train with nothing else to look at…

Minato blinked. He could have sworn that he saw a pale blue butterfly, flapping it's delicate wings gently and absurdly slowly, completely oblivious to the train rushing past it. The transfer student decided that it must have been his imagination. The long trip and the lack of eating were messing with his head.

"Iwatodai. Iwatodai."

The doors opened and Minato stepped off. The intercom repeated the message that never reached the student's ears because the music continued to play.

Then the music stopped. The intercom stopped.

Everything stopped.

Minato stopped for a moment, too. The teen stood for a moment in the dark station, let out a small sigh, and continued along the path to his final destination.

He couldn't remember the first time he had been aware of the Dark Hour; he normally couldn't even recall that the event existed. It was like a recurring dream that he forgot the moment he woke up, and only remembered at all when it came around again to remind him that it was still there.

He used to think that was exactly what it was: a dream, a part of his nightmares (and many times it _had_ been a part of his nightmares). Ironically, knowing that the nightmare was real had made it a little less intimidating. Real life was much more predictable than any nightmare, and the dead silence brought some kind of calm into the night. It was an ominous calm, like the calm found in the eye of a typhoon, but it was still peaceful. Minato once cowered at the sight of the menacing black coffins, but he had come to feel safe enough to stroll casually through the bloody streets without giving his surroundings a second thought.

As the transfer student arrived at his destination, he glanced down at the sheet of paper he had been given. Sure enough, the building in front of him was where he would live for the next year. Maybe even the year after that, he mused. _I think I've gone more than one year at the same school before, wasn't there that one time —_

"You're late. I've been waiting a long time for you."

The sleepwalker found himself standing in the lobby of the dorms. He looked to his left and found the source of the voice that addressed him.

The speaker was a small boy wearing pajamas with a black and white striped pattern. The boy had big, pale gray eyes and some kind of mole on his face. Minato felt a bit remorseful for keeping the boy waiting, even though it wasn't the transfer student's fault that the train had been late. The teen felt that it was odd that a child would greet him this late. Even if it was the kid's task to do so, he couldn't be older than 9 or 10, and should have been exceptionally tired by now.

"Now, if you wish to proceed…" the child snapped his fingers and before Minato knew it, the kid was right in front of him. "You have to sign the contract. Don't worry; all it says is that you take responsibility for you own actions. You know, the usual stuff."

Minato glanced at the contract the boy mentioned without reading through it carefully. He was tired, and only half awake. He wanted to go to sleep and didn't care enough to review the fine print. The student assumed that the boy spoke the truth and that the contract was just more of "the usual stuff" that accompanied moving to a new school. He found the line at the bottom of the paper and signed his name.

_Arisato Minato._

The child took the contract and held it close to his chest.

"No one can escape time. It delivers us all to the same end." The boy raised the contract to his face so it covered his right eye. "You can't cover your ears and close your eyes."

The child turned the contract sideways so it was paper-thin. Then it vanished into thin air. The room grew suddenly darker and the child was covered in shadow.

"And so it begins."

After the shadows had consumed the boy's outstretched arm, Minato continued to stand in the darkness. He wasn't alone for long, however.

"Who's there?"

Minato turned and saw a teenage girl that had apparently just arrived from upstairs. The girl was panting heavily and Minato could see her breaking into a cold sweat. When she reached for the gun in the holster attached to her leg, Minato figured that he probably should have answered the question as soon as she had asked it. Just as the girl was raising the weapon, another voice called out.

"Takeba, wait!"

The two adolescents looked towards the speaker: a redheaded girl who looked a bit older than them. In a few moments the lights came back on and Minato's music resumed right where it had left off.

Minato turned the music off so he could listen to the two girls.

"I didn't think you'd arrive so late," the redhead stated. "My name is Mitsuru Kurijo. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm."

"Who's he?" the brunet who had nearly attacked him inquired.

"He's a transfer student. It was a last minute decision to assign him here. He'll eventually be moved to a room in the boy's dorm."

"Is it okay for him to be here?"

"I guess we'll see…" Mitsuru gestured towards the brunet. "This is Yukari Takeba. She'll be in her 2nd year this spring, just like you."

"Hey." Yukari greeted the transfer student, a little apologetically.

_Why wouldn't it be all right for me to be here? Is this the girls' dorm or something? I guess that would explain why Yukari would act the way she did when some guy comes in around midnight … kinda. _

"Nice to meet you," Minato said out loud, not wanting to get off on the wrong foot.

"Uh, y-yeah," Yukari replied with a small bow. "Nice to meet you too."

"It's getting late," Mitsuru observed, "so you should get some rest. Your room is on the 2nd floor at the end of the hallway. Your things should already be there."

"Oh, I'll show you the way," Yukari offered. "Follow me."

Yukari lead the transfer student up the stairs and to the end of the hallway.

"This is it … pretty easy to remember, huh? Since it's right at the end of the hall. Oh yeah, make sure that you don't lose you key, or you'll never hear the end of it… so, any questions?"

_Well, I'd like to ask you why you pulled a gun on me, and it would be nice to know whether this is the girl's dorm or not…_Then Minato figured out a way to find out the answer to the 2nd question without asking it straight out. It would also answer a third question he had just considered.

"Does that kid live here too?"

"What kid?" was the response Yukari gave, along with a concerned expression. "What are you talking about? … C'mon, it's not funny."

_Huh? Then what was that kid doing here in the first place? He couldn't have just been here to get me to sign that contract; he was even dressed in his pajamas…_

Yukari looked down at her feet for a moment during the awkward silence.

"Um … can I ask you a question? On the way here from the station, was everything okay?"

Minato thought back on his walk from the station. He didn't remember any details—

_- like trying to remember a dream —_

but he shrugged that feeling off as just being the result of an uneventful journey. But still, there was this feeling in the back of his mind…

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I— … never mind. It seems like you're all right. Well, I'd better get going…"

Yukari took a few steps away before looking back.

"Um … I'm sure that you have other questions, but let's save them for later, okay? Good night."

Yukari walked away and Minato decided it was time to get some much-needed sleep.

* * *

After Yukari left, Hitsugaya also returned to his room and entered his gigai soon after.

The Shinigami Captain had been awakened by a strange reiatsu from downstairs. He was about to investigate the disturbance, but by the time he had located the gikongon Kurotsuchi had provided for him the spiritual pressure had disappeared.

He decided that it would be best to take a look anyway, so the Captain had gone into the lobby to see if there was anything left to see. That was the first time Hitsugaya had seen the transfer student, Minato Arisato.

The Captain had met Yukari earlier when he had moved into the dorm, but this was the first he had seen or heard of the dorm's most recent resident. As the conversation among the students progressed, Hitsugaya wondered why he hadn't been informed about the arrival of another student. It seemed as if Yukari hadn't known either; did that mean SEES hadn't thought it was worth mentioning at all? Or was SEES the kind of organization that kept its less senior members in the dark while they were ordered around? He remembered how Yukari had also moved in fairly recently, so it would make sense that she would know about as much as the undercover Shinigami.

Yukari seemed to be uncomfortable with the surprise that was the presence of Minato Arisato. For some reason or another she seemed to be avoiding eye contact and almost looked as if she were embarrassed. Maybe it was something that occurred before he came down to the lobby? They had already been talking by the time he had arrived…

Hitsugaya followed the two upstairs and listened to the remainder of the conversation. It sounded like when Yukari had led Hitsugaya to his room (which was right across the hall from the new transfer student's). It was just the usual stuff: here's the room, don't lose you key, are there any questions—

"Does that kid live here too?"

That got Hitsugaya's attention.

_He had better not be talking about me,_ the small Captain thought, and not just because he couldn't stand being referred to as a kid. _Takeba shouldn't be able to see me, but this student wasn't there when Kurotsuchi performed his test…_

"What kid?"

Hitsugaya braced himself. If the answer was "the one right behind you" then the mission had just become _much_ more complicated.

As it turned out, there was no answer. That was odd. Maybe the teen was used to seeing ghosts, and had learned not to mention them in front of normal people? That was the only explanation Hitsugaya could think of.

_This is bad._ The 10th Captain thought about the complications this could lead to. He would inevitably have to introduce himself to the transfer student, and the reaction he received might force him to take serious measures against the teen. He was responsible for the success of this mission, and would not hesitate to wipe the boy's memory. He would avoid the act unless it was absolutely necessary, however. The 10th Captain had learned to mistrust the 12th Company official reports, and had therefore come to believe that "occasional cases of minor brain damage" was very likely to be an understatement.

_It shouldn't have to come to that. I'm sure I could think up some kind of lie._ Hitsugaya pondered what kind of story he could invent in order to avoid blanking the boy's memory. He was considering how convincing a twin brother who had died at a tragically young age would sound when Hyorinmaru contacted him.

"_Have you considered that he might never have been referring to you?"_

_There isn't much of an alternative, Hyorinmaru,_ said the Captain as he greeted his zanpakuto. _I appreciate your optimistic outlook, but I'm obviously the only one he could have referred to when he asked about the "kid"._

"_Are you quite certain?"_

_It's the only logical conclusion. While it may be ignorant and unfair, it is completely understandable when someone who doesn't know any better mistakes me for a child._

"_That's not what I meant; I had no intention of implying that you may not have fit the description."_

_Then say what's on your mind already!_ Hitsugaya nearly yelled aloud, impatience and anxiety getting the better of him.

_"You never did discover the source of that reiatsu."_

He had nearly forgotten the reason he had gone down to the lobby in the first place.

_That is one possibility._

"_I think it is more likely. You get worked up far too easily when it comes to your physique."_

_Even the patience of a saint has its limits. Besides, even if what you say has some amount of merit, it's still possible that he saw me._

"_True. Just make sure that you think things through before you act."_

_Always._

* * *

4/7 Wednesday Morning

Minato hadn't slept very well, which wasn't surprising considering the amount of time he had to sleep and the fatigue that came with moving. He hit the snooze button when the alarm first went off and was reluctant to get up the second time, so he had to hurry if he didn't want to be late.

He had just finished getting ready when a knock echoed from the door.

"It's Yukari. Are you awake?"

_It would be really bad news if I weren't._ Minato thought to himself as he went to open the door to his room. Yukari and a short girl with black hair he hadn't met before were standing outside.

"Good morning!" said Yukari as she greeted the transfer student. "Did you sleep okay? Mitsuru-senpai asked me if to take you to school, and it's already getting late so … are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I'm ready."

"Okay, then let's go."

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. This is Rukia Kuchiki. She's another transfer student. Including you, there's three this year."

"Nice to meet you," Rukia told the teen.

"Same here. Do you know who the other transfer student is?"

"We were just about to get him, he lives right across the hall from you," Yukari informed Minato.

"_He?" Guess it's not a girl's dorm after all._ Minato thought to himself.

Yukari knocked on the door and repeated what she had said to Minato. The door opened and the blue haired teen saw that the room's occupant was a boy with white hair, not much taller than Rukia.

"Good morning. Toshiro, this is Minato Arisato. Minato, this is Toshiro Hitsugaya, the other transfer student we were telling you about."

"Nice to meet you," Toshiro said to Minato, "I wasn't aware that there would be another transfer student."

"Same here," Minato replied. "I mean, it's nice to meet you too and I didn't know that I wasn't the only transfer until a few moments ago."

Both the students looked at Yukari, who blushed slightly.

"What? I didn't know about any of you until you showed up here and we met." The student turned to Minato. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the other transfers, but it didn't really seem important at the time. It's not that big of a deal anyway, right?"

Minato just shrugged.

"It's alright, Yukari," Toshiro said. "There's no reason to apologize, even if you did know."

"That's right," Rukia concurred, "it was a nice surprise to learn there was another transfer student."

The four students went out to the station together. While they waited for the train, Toshiro started to make casual conversation with Minato.

"So, when did you move in? Rukia and I just arrived last night and we never saw you."

"I missed my first train and the second one was late, so I didn't get in until around midnight."

"That's a shame," the white-haired teen sympathized, "it must have been tiring."

Minato simply nodded.

"Oh, Yukari said that she met you last night, didn't she?" Toshiro inquired.

"Huh? When did she say that?"

"She said 'I didn't know about any of you until you showed up here and we met,' which implies that she had met you before. And you said that you didn't arrive until midnight. Therefore, Yukari met you last night. Or perhaps I should have said 'early this morning'."

Minato just nodded again to show that he understood.

"So," Toshiro said, determined to keep the conversation moving, "how was the reception? I wouldn't have thought anyone would have stayed up that late just to invite a new student."

"Uh, yeah. I guess I woke her up or something."

Toshiro raised an eyebrow. "She lives a floor above me and you didn't wake me up. Are you saying that she wasn't there to greet you?"

"She was _definitely_ not there to greet me."

"Ah. Well, she did say that she didn't know about us until we showed up … so what _was_ the reception like?"

"Well, I met Yukari and Mitsuru-senpai, but before that, when I just arrived…"

"Yes?" the white-haired adolescent asked, "What happened?"

"I don't know if it was some kind of dream or something, but there was this kid there."

"A kid?" Toshiro echoed.

"Yeah, do you know anything about him?"

"I don't recall ever seeing a child in the dorms. What did he look like?"

"Well," Minato began, "he had dark hair and pale eyes, and he was wearing striped pajamas."

"Hmm…" Toshiro used the sound to disguise a sigh of relief. "I don't remember ever seeing someone who matches that description. Sorry."

"It's alright. Hey, you didn't sign any kind of contract when you came here, did you?"

"No, I never signed any kind of contract." Toshiro stated.

"I didn't think so. I remember the kid giving me a contract, but I guess it was all some kind of dream or something."

"I see."

* * *

For a while after that, Hitsugaya and Minato remained silent. Hitsugaya was thinking about the situation.

_Well, the good news is that he wasn't able to see me. I suppose the boy he saw was the source of the reiatsu I felt._

"'_You suppose'? I was the one who alerted you of that possibility."_

_While I remain thankful for your advice, Hyorinmaru, I would have reached that conclusion eventually._

"_True enough, but 'eventually' very often has the same meaning as 'too late'."_

_I wasn't going to erase his memory unless I knew for sure that there was no other way. You know me better than that._

Hitsugaya regarded the youth in question, who was looking out the window toward the high school that they would soon be attending.

A little while later he thought, _the fact that he was brought to the dorms probably means that SEES has an interest in him._

"_It wouldn't surprise me if he was a Persona user."_

_But what do think about the contract he signed? If the boy was real then it is very likely that he signed some kind of contract with him. The question is, what did the contract say and does it have any kind of actual influence over him?_

"_Your guess is as good as mine."_

_I should probably ask him later._

"Well, this is it."

Hitsugaya looked up, a little surprised. He had still been deep in thought when the students had left the train, and he hadn't realized that they had arrived at their destination so soon.

"We're here," Yukari continued, "welcome to Gekkoukan High School. Hope you like it!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** So, there's the latest chapter, hope you liked it. I find it a little ironic that as my school year comes to an end, I get to the part of the story where the school year begins.

Anyway, I introduced the zanpakutos in this chapter, and decided to put any dialogue from the zanpakutos in quotes and italics, while I simply kept the thoughts of their masters in italics. I did that to keep the exchange of dialogue less confusing for the reader (sorry if I actually made it more confusing).

My thanks go out, as always, to anyone who took the time out of their day to leave a review. You're all awesome. I also thank anyone who added any of my stories to their favorites or alerts. You guys are awesome too. To everyone else: please leave a review. Please? I've enabled anonymous reviews for all my stories, so now you don't even need a fanfiction account to review. You don't have any more excuses. It doesn't have to be forced praise or an 800-word essay; a simple "well done" or some constructive criticism will do just fine. Thanks ahead of time.


	5. Gathering

**Author's Note:** Hello again, everyone, unless you're joining us for the first time. Which is odd, considering that this is chapter 5 and most people start at chapter 1. But in any case, it's been a while since I updated, and for that, I apologize. I had a really bad case of writer's block, but that's (hopefully) in the past now. So without further ado, you may begin reading. Special thanks to my beta, ShadowDragoon32.

* * *

Yukari walked her three dorm mates into the high school. The brunette then turned to her fellow students.

"You guys will be okay from here, right? You should go see your homeroom teacher first. The faculty office is right there to your left," Yukari said, pointing to the hallway where the office was located. "And that concludes the tour. Do you have any questions before I go?"

"Do you know which class you'll be in?" Minato asked.

"Me? I dunno… I haven't looked at any of the classroom assignments yet. Hey … about last night…" she said, lowering her voice. "Don't tell anyone what you saw, okay? See you later."

Yukari started to walk away while the transfers went down the hallway to the faculty room.

"Yukari, could I talk to you for a moment?"

Yukari turned to see Toshiro had not followed Minato and Rukia to the faculty office.

"Sure thing, Toshiro. Do you have any questions?"

"Well, I don't want sound like I'm sticking my nose into other peoples' business, but Minato and I were talking about his arrival at the dorms last night…"

The white-haired youth trailed off, waiting for Yukari to step in.

"What did he say?"

"Well, for one, he said that you weren't exactly there to welcome him," Toshiro said bluntly.

Yukari blushed in embarrassment. "It's just that … you know about what happens around midnight, right?" She asked in a hushed tone, a serious expression replacing her embarrassed one.

"You mean the Dark Hour? Rukia and I were informed before we moved into the dorms."

"Right. Well, Minato came to the dorms during the Dark Hour, and I … I thought that he was a Shadow."

Toshiro raised his eyebrows. "So, you're saying that you attacked him."

"No, I didn't! … I would have, though, if it hadn't been for Mitsuru-senpai," she admitted, fidgeting in bashful discomfort.

Have you ever seen a Shadow before?" Toshiro asked.

"Only pictures," she said. "I've never been in a real battle, or even summoned my Persona before. I panicked. I know he doesn't look anything _remotely_ like a Shadow, but they told me that only Shadows were active during the Dark Hour, and I didn't know that anyone else was moving in."

Toshiro simply shrugged. "It's understandable if you panicked. Also, did he mention anything out of the ordinary last night?"

"What do you mean?"

"He told me about a 'strange dream' that he had where he met a child who gave him a contract to sign. He didn't seem entirely convinced that it was a dream until I told him that I never saw a child in the dorms. Are dreams or hallucinations like that a normal part of the Dark Hour?"

Yukari considered what she had been told. "Well… there are a bunch of side effects that people new to the Dark Hour might experience. There's memory loss and disorientation, but I've never heard of hallucinations before. I don't think it could have been a dream either, since he mentioned a kid to me before he went to sleep."

"Is there a possibility that the kid actually existed?"

"What do you mean?" Yukari asked, sounding puzzled.

"Are Shadows the only things that appear during the Dark Hour? Have any Shadows ever disguised themselves as humans before?"

"I'm not sure … but I don't think so. If that were the case, we would have probably been told about them."

"You're probably right," Toshiro agreed. "I was just thinking of ways to make sense of what he said. I'm new to this, so I wasn't sure what to think."

"It's alright, Toshiro. There's still a lot about the Dark Hour that we don't know yet. But anyway, you should get going to the faculty office."

"You're right again," Toshiro said. "Anyway, thanks."

"Anytime, Toshiro."

* * *

Hitsugaya sighed as the school's principal droned on and on. The opening ceremony was as dull as Yamamoto's worst Captain's meetings, and far more tedious. Hitsugaya decided that his time would be better spent picking off any Hollows in the area. He and Kuchiki had agreed to purify local Hollows on an alternating shift where Hitsugaya would take up the responsibility one day and Kuchiki would do so the next. They had agreed (or rather, Hitsugaya had ordered) that the Captain would get the first day. Seeing the long-winded speech as the perfect opportunity to leave, Hitsugaya reached into his pocket for the capsule where he kept the special _gikongon_ that Kurotsuchi had given him.

The captain flicked open the capsule, feeling a flash of concern when he realized it was empty. Where was it? He thought back to earlier that day when he checked to make sure that it was there before he left the dorms. The next time he opened the capsule was…

And then, with a slight shock, Hitsugaya remembered where the _gikongon_ had gone. It wasn't in its case because it was currently in use. He was the _gikongon_.

Hitsugaya let out a frustrated sigh. The fact that Kurotsuchi was his creator didn't decrease the ill will he felt towards him. He had nothing to go on but the memories that weren't his; in short, he had nothing. He _was_ nothing.

"Boring as hell, isn't he?" the teen sitting next to him whispered, noticing the frustrated look on Hitsugaya's face.

The mod soul let out another sigh, and nodded. _That was one of the reasons the Captain left…_

"I'm Junpei Iori, nice to meet ya. You're one of the new transfer students, right? Toshiro Hitsugaya or something?"

The _gikongon_ gave another nod. _Not quite, but I'm not going to correct you._

"Yeah, I transferred here a few years back, so I know what it's like being the new guy. Well, don't worry pal, 'cause you've got a friend in Junpei Iori!"

"I hear talking," a teacher from another class said before mod-Hitsugaya could roll his eyes. "I believe it's someone in Ms. Toriumi's class…"

"Be quiet!" the homeroom teacher in question hissed, "You're going to get me in trouble!"

For some odd reason, though, people seemed to take other people talking as an excuse to start their own conversations.

"So," Junpei said, using the aforementioned excuse as an excuse to resume his own conversation, "do you know the area around here that well yet? I could always show you around."

Mod-Hitsugaya shrugged. "That would be helpful," he said. And it would, too, in more ways than one. It would be useful to have knowledge of the area. Besides, having a "friend" outside of SEES could help him to blend in.

Junpei grinned. "Cool. I'll meet you after school."

The mod-soul nodded again and suppressed a sigh. He hoped he wouldn't have to do all the tedious work for this mission. Ah, who was he fooling? It wasn't like he could do anything else.

* * *

Minato had successfully stayed awake during the opening ceremony, in spite of the principle's boring speech and his high levels of fatigue acquired from the long trip. His lack of sleep from the night before had done nothing to help, either. After the ceremony ended the students were dismissed to homeroom, where attendance was taken before an early dismissal.

_I should probably go straight back to the dorms, I could really use a rest_, the transfer student thought to himself, stifling a yawn.

"'Sup, dude?" asked a voice from behind Minato. The transfer turned around and saw Toshiro and another student, and assumed the one he didn't know had spoken.

"Who are you?" Minato asked, wondering how Toshiro knew the stranger.

"Me?" asked the student in question. "I'm Junpei Iori, nice to meet ya. I transferred here when I was in 8th grade. I know how tough it is being the new kid, so I thought I would try to be friendly to all the new transfers this year. See what a nice guy I am?"

At that point, Yukari entered the room and approached the group, rolling her eyes when she saw Junpei. "Hey, it's Yuka-tan!" Junpei said with a smile. "I didn't think we'd be in the same class this year."

Yukari gave a very audible sigh at her classmate. "At it again, huh? I swear, you'll talk to anyone if they'll listen. Did you ever think you might be bothering someone?"

"What?" Junpei asked, slightly embarrassed. "But I was just bein' friendly."

"If you say so," Yukari said dismissively.

"Hey, it looks like we're all going to be in the same homeroom," said a familiar voice from behind Minato. The blue haired transfer turned to see Rukia approaching her fellow dorm-mates.

"I know, I was a little surprised," Yukari agreed.

"Uh, am I missing something here?" Junpei asked, wondering how everybody already knew one another.

"We all live in the same dorm," Toshiro explained. "I guess that does make this quite the coincidence."

"Whoa, wait a minute, you all live together?" Junpei said. "Guess that would explain some of the rumors going around."

"Rumors?" Yukari asked with an edge to her voice.

"All kinds, and they mostly revolve around you, Yuka-tan," Junpei said with a wide grin. He pointed at Minato before continuing. "They say that you two walked to school together this morning, and another one says that you were sharing a private word with Toshiro here," he said, moving the finger over to the white-haired teen. "What's up with that? C'mon, gimme the dirt."

"Wh-what are you talking about?" a very flustered Yukari said. "We all live in the same dorm. There's nothing going on, okay? Why are people even talking about it?"

"Do the students here usually spread rumors like this?" asked an irritated Toshiro, rubbing his temples as if he had an annoying headache.

"Like wildfire. Now I'm worried," Yukari answered with an exasperated sigh. "Hey," she said, turning to Minato and lowering her voice. "You didn't tell anyone about … you-know-what, did you?"

"You-know-what?" Minato asked sleepily, wondering if she was referring to the incident where she nearly shot him.

"Don't tell me you forgot already!" Yukari cried. This only served to make Minato even more confused. "Seriously," Yukari continued, "don't tell anyone about last night, alright?"

At this, Junpei's jaw dropped and Toshiro stopped rubbing his temples in order to bury his forehead into his hand, while Rukia gave a small sigh. Even in his sleep-deprived state, Minato was tempted to mimic Toshiro's face-palm at the accidental innuendo.

"Wh-what?" Yukari stuttered, not sure of what to make from her classmates' reactions.

"L-last night?" Junpei questioned.

"W-wait a minute! Don't get the wrong idea!" Yukari exclaimed, realizing what she said. "Listen! I just met him yesterday, and there's absolutely nothing between us! Rukia and Toshiro can vouch for me, right?" she asked, turning towards her dorm mates for support.

"Actually, we were sleeping by the time you met him," Rukia said awkwardly.

"Please don't encourage the rumors, Rukia," Toshiro said with a sigh. "We could all do without them."

"What? I was just being honest," Rukia said.

"I gotta go take care of something for the archery team," Yukari said, eager to back out of the conversation, a slight blush wreathing her cheeks. "But you better not start any rumors!" She glared at Junpei, and then left.

Junpei gave a dramatic shrug. "Ah, who cares? Nobody takes rumors seriously anyway. She's so paranoid…" With that said, he turned excitedly towards Minato and Toshiro. "But hey! It's your first day here and people are already talkin' about you!" exclaimed the cap-wearing teen.

"Not exactly how I was hoping to start off the year," Toshiro muttered.

"Nobody's said anything about me?" Rukia asked, feeling left out.

"Uh, not really, no rumors anyway," Junpei replied. "It's just that Yuka-tan's pretty popular, believe it or not, and rumors tend to fly around popular people. Which means that you two are going to be the talk of the school for a while," he said, turning once again towards Toshiro and Minato. "Heheh, this is gonna be a fun year, I can feel it!"

Toshiro cleared his throat. "You still haven't asked Minato and Rukia if they wanted to come with us yet, Junpei. That was the reason you came over here in the first place, wasn't it?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Do you two wanna have a small tour of the area?" Junpei asked the transfers. "I figured that since you're new here it would be helpful."

"Thanks, that sounds great," Rukia said happily. "Will you be coming along, Minato?"

_Well, I was looking forward to getting some rest … but on the other hand this does seem pretty helpful. I could also do with some friends, even if I'm probably going to be gone by the end of the year,_ thought the blue-haired teen. "Sure, I'll tag along," he told the group. As the four headed off on their tour of Port Island, Minato thought that Junpei was right. Maybe it was just the other teen's energy rubbing off on him, but he had a feeling that this year would be one to remember.

* * *

Hitsugaya was sitting on the roof of the dorms, waiting for Kuchiki and his _gikongon_ to return. He had spent the last few hours purifying whatever Hollows had appeared in the town, organizing what little data he had obtained so far into a report, and sending orders to his third seat to make sure that Masumoto wouldn't slack off.

As time moved on, the Captain began to wonder what was keeping his subordinates from returning for so long. Not that he was eager to resume his undercover roll; while what he had done after he had left that role to his _gikongon_ was boring, he still felt that it was more productive than pasting on a smile and wasting time pretending to fit in. The valuable information to be gained during the mission was data on the abilities of the Persona users, not records of their social lives.

Hitsugaya began to grow irritated. If Kurotsuchi had really designed that _gikongon_ to mimic him perfectly it would have shared his values, and yet it was late, off doing who-knew-what.

_"You're venting your frustration on the mod-soul," _Hyorinmaru told the Captain. _"It's not the _gikongon's_ fault that you're on this assignment. Odds are that he's doing something you're going to appreciate in the long run."_

_You have a point,_ Hitsugaya admitted, calming himself. _Still, if it's important, I would like to see what it is._

_"By all means, you should,"_ Hyorinmaru agreed. _"Better than staying here doing nothing."_

The Shinigami stood and attempted to locate Kuchiki's _reiatsu_. Once he had found it, Hitsugaya closed the distance between himself and the lieutenant with _shunpo_, arriving at some sort of shopping mall.

_"Don't jump to conclusions,"_ Hyorinmaru warned the Captain.

_I'm not jumping to conclusions,_ Hitsugaya said. _I'm going to look at the situation calmly and logically before I reach a conclusion._

With that, the 10th Captain entered the mall with a _shunpo_, depriving Hyorinmaru of a chance to retort before he surveyed his underlings with his own eyes. Hitsugaya's mod-soul was in an arcade with Kuchiki, Arisato, and another student that he didn't recognize.

The Captain felt his eye twitch.

_"Well… at least he looks uncomfortable,"_ Hyorinmaru offered. _"So we know he's not doing it for fun."_

_I don't know what to make of that,_ Hitsugaya replied.

_"Like I said earlier, I'm sure he has a reason."_

Before Hitsugaya could think any further on the subject, he was addressed by a very familiar voice.

"Enjoying the sights, Captain? Port Island has a lot to offer, don't you think?"

Hitsugaya turned to face the speaker. Standing there, clad in his trademarked hat and clogs, and peering over a paper fan, was Kisuke Urahara.

"What are you doing here?" Hitsugaya asked bluntly, after a swift recovery from his surprise.

"I've relocated my shop~" Urahara replied, no doubt grinning behind the fan. "Like I said, Port Island has a lot to offer, and I'm hoping that I'll draw in more business here than in Karakura town."

"I'd appreciate an honest response," Hitsugaya said.

"I'm being completely honest; I'm here for business," the exiled Shinigami said. "My sources in Soul Society _may_ have informed me that you and Lieutenant Kuchiki were sent here on an important assignment, but Soul Society itself gave me no orders to aid you. Though if you'd like to do business with me, I'd be more than happy to assist you. For a price, of course~"

"What kind of assistance are you talking about?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Just swing by when you're in need of supplies," Urahara said. "We'll be opening in two days. In the mean time, you should catch up with your comrades."

The shopkeeper turned and walked away, while Hitsugaya's mod-soul approached with the rest of the group. Upon seeing his Captain, the _gikongon_ reached into his pocket to grab a napkin. As Hitsugaya approached, the proxy pretended to sneeze, and the Captain used that pretense to step into the _gigai_ and cough up the mod-soul into the napkin. As Hitsugaya retook control of the faux body he felt the unpleasant sensation of adjusting to the larger body while inheriting the memories of the mod-soul, as well as the headache the _gikongon_ had acquired from the arcade.

The Captain mulled over the memories the proxy had gained as well as the logic he had used to justify his actions and felt a little bad for doubting the mod-soul. Kurotsuchi had been correct, it was exactly the kind of thing that Hitsugaya would have done himself. The _gikongon_ was sure to be useful after all. It was a shame all of its work would be tedious, but nevertheless, it would be useful.

Hitsugaya sighed. The mission had only just begun and already both the Captain and proxy were tired of it. If the beginning was any indication of the events to come, it was going to be a long and all-around miserable year.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yes, I know it's a short chapter, and I apologize for how long it took to write it. I've had a bad bit of writer's block and I was too lazy to overcome it, but hopefully that's in the past. Hopefully the new chapters of Bleach will give me some more motivation. The future chapters are looking promising and I can't wait to get back to Soul Society. As I mentioned before, when I began writing this story, I was under the impression that Bleach would end with the Final Getsuga Tensho. I'm happy that it didn't but now my predictions are all wrong. I made Rukia lieutenant of the wrong division and Renji isn't even a freaking Captain yet. I'm not all too surprised that Ikkaku is still the 11th's 3rd seat since I gave him the promotion mostly as a joke anyway. For those of you who don't know the 9th Division is in charge of the Seireitei Bulletin, and I thought it would be funny to put Ikkaku in charge of a division of bookworms. Ah, but now I'm rambling. In any case, I'll try to update soon, hopefully with a longer chapter. Hope you enjoyed, please review.


	6. Announcement

This isn't something that's easy to dress up and make it look nice, so I'll be blunt. I won't be updating this fic anymore.

Before you despair, you should know that there's a good chance that I will (eventually) start this story from scratch. Odds are that the updates will be infrequent at best, like so many other fics that are out there, but there should at least be something.

I'd like to thank each and every one of you for reading this far, but if you have than that probably means that you're more satisfied with my work than I am.

When I first started writing for this site, I was an amateur at best, and whenever I read my old works I'm reminded of that. I'd like to think that I've made some progress since then, and I'd also like to think that you guys deserve better. Maybe I'm exaggerating my improvements over the years, but I'll let you be the judge of that when I re-release my crossover. I'll also leave this fic up since it's a reminder of where I began and does hold a certain sentimental value to me, so you don't have to worry about it going anywhere.

I've always valued your opinions, and once again I'd like to ask you to leave a review and tell me what you think about this. Most of the feedback I've received so far has been positive, and as much as I appreciate that I'd really like to hear some constructive criticism so I can improve my writing the next time around. I'm also thinking about changing a few things up, so feel free to leave some suggestions about something you might like to see in this fic's reincarnation. I can't promise that I'll use your idea, but I will read and consider every review that's posted.

I think I've said everything I wanted to say, so I won't waste anymore of your time.

I wish you all Happy Holidays as well as a Happy Birthday to a certain Bleach character today. (I'll give you three guesses and a trip to the Bleach Wiki to figure out who it is.)

Thanks again, it's been fun.


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